To whoever writes the gleefully glib captions for the letters to the editor: Kudos – “God to deal sharply with sexual sinners,” (Letters, Herald, July 12) and “Kardashians disprove U.S. greatness,” (Letters, Herald, July 19) – Ha!

On the Kardashians negating our sovereign superiority I must take issue with Tom Wright. To the depths of my soul I agree that the ditches of pop culture are flooded with inane, vapid prattle. When a few years ago, Snookie’s autobiography hit the New York Times best-seller list, I could have wept. When I pass by a TV during the daytime and see the disease that is Jerry Springer, my heart falls. The list of steaming banalities grunted out by much of the media today is sickening.

It is not, however, an American phenomenon. If Wright does decide to expatriate, he is apt to find himself similarly disappointed wherever he goes that there is a concentration of people. Inanity is the dominant zeitgeist in this planet’s news and entertainment culture. He will find, in different languages, in different hues and tenors, the same thing throughout Europe, Asia, South America, Africa – any place on Earth crowded by mankind. Hopeless? Probably.

Any hope for rescue by otherworldly aliens is surely doomed. Can you imagine what a more advanced neighbor a few galaxies away might think of us based upon our radio wave transmissions?

As the deep space explorer zooms beyond Pluto and the edge of our solar system, I will not be surprised if it returns photos of space signs posted at our starry border declaring, “Caution Humans.”

John Cochran

Durango